Las Vegas native Bryce Harper is not a fan of the potential relocation of the Oakland A’s.
The Philadelphia Phillies superstar is doubtful that a team as synonymous with Oakland as the A’s could make it work in his hometown.
“I feel sorry for the fans in Oakland,” Harper told USA Today. “It’s just not right. They have so much history in Oakland. You’re taking a team out of a city. I’m pretty sad because of all of the history and all of the greatness they’ve seen there.
“I see the A’s as Oakland. I don’t see them as Vegas.”
Sin City should, instead, be a candidate for an expansion team, not the new home for a team with such deep ties to Northern California, according to Harper.
“Look at the [Vegas Golden] Knights — they won the Cup, but they were an expansion franchise,” Harper said. “They were Vegas-born, as people would say. It’s the first team that came to Vegas. I don’t think you can really match that.
“It’s just going to be tough for those guys. It was tough for the Raiders last year. People thought the Raiders would be successful. Maybe they will be, but you have to build a fan base. Those 5- and 6-year-olds are going to grow up as Raiders fans or A’s fans, so by the time they are 16, 17 years old, they’re going to have fans.”
Harper’s teammate Bryson Stott, who was also born and raised in Las Vegas and played college baseball at UNLV, shared the former National League MVP’s sentiment.
“You have people in town liking the Dodgers, and the Angels, and the Padres, and the Diamondbacks,” Stott said. “It will take a few generations before they have a real fandom in baseball.
“I’m sure they’ll sell tickets for visiting fans, which is probably all they care about.”
Harper and Stott’s comments come during a historic week for the Oakland A’s relocation saga.
On Wednesday, Nevada lawmakers passed an amended bill that would provide public funding for the A’s planned stadium in Vegas on the site of the Tropicana hotel.
The bill is now on the desk of Gov. Joe Lombardo.
If signed, MLB would then have to approve the relocation of the A’s.
One day earlier, more than 27,000 A’s fans held a reverse boycott during a game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Oakland Coliseum as a protest over the proposed move.
The Phillies are visiting the A’s in Oakland for a three-game series starting Friday night.
